Nairobi — Before presidents arrive, before stadium gates open, and before aircraft doors slide shut at major airports, a silent security sweep has already taken place, led not by flashing sirens, but by sharp noses, steady paws and disciplined canine teams of the Kenya Police.
These are the National Police Service's K-9 officers, an elite unit of highly trained police dogs and handlers deployed across Kenya's most sensitive security environments.
At the helm of the unit is Commissioner of Police Peter Mnyoto, Commandant of the Kenya Police K-9 Unit, whose own journey began on the leash as a dog handler.
"Here we carry out breeding and training of police dogs," Mnyoto says. "Currently, we have an estimate of around 500 police dogs working in Kenya and we have deployed them all over the country."
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Based at the NPS K-9 Academy in Lang'ata, the unit, established in 1948, supports police operations as well as other agencies, including the military, Kenya Wildlife Service, the Kenya Prisons Service and other key installations.
The dogs secure airports, patrol borders, guard vital installations and screen venues ahead of high-profile events.
"Like all VVIP events where the President will be moving, our team will be there before to ensure that the event is safe," Mnyoto says. "At all major public events and national celebrations, we have a team from the explosives section to ensure these events are free from terror attacks."
Behind the deployments is a structured training system that prepares both dogs and officers for specialised roles.
Inspector Daniel Opio, Deputy in Charge at the National Police Service K-9 Academy, says: "We are responsible for training officers who handle the dogs and also training the dogs themselves."
The academy trains general purpose dogs for patrol, guard and protection duties, alongside detection dogs for explosives, narcotics and firearms, as well as search-and-rescue canines.
"The academy works with a range of breeds, each chosen for specific roles, from German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois for patrol and detection, Rottweilers for tracking and apprehension, Labradors and Spaniels for narcotics and explosives, to Bloodhounds for expert tracking."
Training, according to Opio, begins when dogs are between four and six months old, with the duration depending on breed and individual ability.
In the field, modern policing standards guide how the dogs are used. Tracking dogs are trained to identify rather than attack suspects.
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"We no longer have dogs that will track a criminal down and then bite them. We just want them to track and then identify," Opio explains.
To those who work with them daily, the animals are not just assets, they are partners.
"A working dog is a partner," Mnyoto says. "You put in 50 percent; your partner, the police dog, puts in 50 percent."
Quiet, disciplined and highly skilled, Kenya's four-legged officers remain on constant watch, often unseen, but central to the country's security shield.
